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Dear Pat: My husband and I love to steal away to Fig Tree for a romantic dinner away from our five kids. We don't often get to go out for dinner, and when the opportunity arises, we head downtown to Fig Tree. The food is wonderful, the service impeccable, and the setting is so special, particularly when you sit outside and overlook the River Walk. The last time we were there, we had a side dish of the most marvelous roasted potatoes, and I would love to know how they make them. My roasted potatoes never taste like that! There must be some secret, and I'm hoping the chef will share. Thanks.

Anita

Dear Anita﻿: You were fortunate to arrive on a night when Fig Tree chef Byron Bergeron was serving these ambrosial potatoes. As it happens, they were part of a special that evening, but perhaps he should be persuaded to add them to the menu. They're that good.

You're right, of course — the chef does have a secret or two up his sleeve. First, he adds toasted, crushed caraway seeds and paprika to the potatoes to give them both lusty flavor and gorgeous color. Then he cooks the potatoes, along with shallots, in a combination of duck fat and butter. Cooking in duck fat is not typical on this side of the Atlantic, but in France, especially in the Dordogne region, potatoes cooked in duck fat are commonplace. Whether roasted or fried in duck fat, potatoes become utterly irresistible — crisp and golden on the outside and silken on the inside. The shallots that cook in the duck fat and butter become meltingly soft and caramelized, adding even more flavor to the potatoes.

Bergeron uses the small Yukon gold potatoes, about golf-ball size, but if you can't find them, just cut the larger ones into smaller chunks. Cut the shallots into similar size pieces, so they cook at the same rate. Serve these potatoes with an immaculately prepared duck breast, for a romantic dinner for two — at home.

The Fig Tree is located at 515 Villita St., in La Villita.

Pat Mozersky is a freelance writer for the Express-News. Contact her at chefssecrets.pm@ gmail.com.